The Kandinsky Trio, founded at the Ravinia Festival, unites three internationally known soloists, each a leading exponent of his or her instrument and each a recipient of the Echo Klassik and numerous other awards.

Violinist Kathrin Rabus (first concertmistress of the NDR Radiophilharmonie), violist Hartmut Rohde and cellist Jens Peter Maintz (both professors at the Universität der Künste, Berlin ) have come together out of a shared love for three-way musical conversations among equals, and out of the wish to present exceptional rarities along with the standard string trio repertoire.

Shortly after its formation, concerts tours took the Kandinsky String Trio throughout Europe and to the United States, where it made its successful debuts in New York, Washington,and in Chicago. The ensemble is a regular guest at major chamber music series, and at major festivals, such as Rheingau, Stuttgart Bachfestival, Heidelberg Frühling, and Schleswig-Holstein. Upcoming will be, among others, collaborations with the solo winds of the Berlin Philharmonic and with solo winds and strings of the Vienna Philharmonic.

In order to bring to the concert hall seldom-heard works, the Kandinsky Trio regularly invites guests as e.g. the solo winds of the Vienna Philharmonic to present Mozart’s oboe and flute quartets. In addition, the trio regularly works with Bruno Canino, David Geringas and Klaus Thunemann.

Of particular importance for the stylistic development of the ensemble was working together with Reinhard Goebels. Using different bowing styles for the different musical epochs, they are able to realize a much more differentiated style of playing that highlights more clearly the rhetorical flow of the works.

Recordings with the Kandinsky Trio can be found with Arte Nova and Sony, where Beethoven’s string trio Op. 9 is part of the "Complete Masterpieces" series.

Radio recordings for almost all of the major stations demonstrate the ensemble's wide repertoire and the particular standing of the ensemble. A CD with String Trios of Krommer, Playel and Hänsel is being planned.